Treebeard
Treebeard, also known as Fangorn, was the oldest of the Ents left in Middle-earth, an ancient tree-like being who was a "shepherd of trees". He had a very tall and stiff-limbed appearance, with bark-like skin and leafy hair. In Chapter 5 of The Two Towers, Gandalf calls Treebeard "...the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth." In The Return of the King, Chapter 6, "Many Partings", Celeborn addresses Treebeard as "Eldest." History Before the Third Age Treebeard was believed to be the oldest Ent who ever lived. He was so old that he remembered the time of Elves teaching the trees to speak, recalling how they wanted to talk to everything. In the time when Middle-earth was merely a giant forest, Treebeard roamed the land, presumably with his love, Fimbrethil. But after the loss of the Entwives, he and the remaining Ents dwelt in the Forest of Fangorn, isolating themselves from the outside world. Third Age and War of the Ring With the arrival of the Istari in the year TA 1000 of the Third Age, Saruman came to Fangorn and befriended Treebeard, and would often visit him. The two would talk, discussing various subjects, with Saruman gathering information about the forest itself, and in particular its intertwining paths.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Two Towers'', Book Three, Ch. IV: "Treebeard" As the years passed and with no Entings due to the loss of the Entwives, the number of Ents fell. Some Ents in their old age became still and silent, almost becoming tree like as they slumbered. Treebeard, Finglas, Fladrif, Quickbeam and around fifty remained, some younger, some older. When Sauron's shadow began to spread across the land once more, Treebeard and the Ents remained in Fangorn, continuing to tend the trees, and taking no part in the affairs of Men, Elves and Wizards. However, they were brought into the war when Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took escaped from Saruman's Orcs, became lost in Fangorn Forest and befriended Treebeard. Upon learning that Saruman was cutting down the forest to power his war effort, an angry Treebeard called all the ents together for an Entmoot. After three days of deliberation, they decided to attack Isengard, in an event known as the Last March of the Ents. Leading the attack, Treebeard helped to bring down Isengard's walls and utterly destroy them, save the tower of Orthanc and Saruman himself who sat in his tower with his manservant Grima Wormtongue. The Ents also broke the dam wall which had starved the once green and beautiful Wizards Vale of all its water, flooding Saruman's pits, mines, and machines of war.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Two Towers'', Book Three, Ch. IX: "Flotsam and Jetsam" Once Isengard was cleansed, Treebeard remained to guard over Saruman, but was ultimately unable to keep him, due to the power of Saruman's voice and the fact that Treebeard could not bear to lock any living thing up.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. VI: "Many Partings" After the War of the Ring and Beyond After Aragorn was crowned king, he promised Treebeard that the Ents could prosper again and spread to new lands with the threat of Mordor gone, and renew their search for the Entwives. However, Treebeard sadly lamented that forests may spread once more, but the Ents would not, predicting that the few remaining Ents would remain in Fangorn forest until they slowly dwindled in number. However, he still held some hope for finding the Entwives, as he asked Merry and Pippin to watch for them near the Shire, and to bring word if they were to find them. Treebeard's ultimate fate is not known. While he aged very slowly and was extremely long-lived, he was not immortal. He most likely underwent the same fate of all the Ents: eventually settling down in one place, growing roots and leaves, and essentially becoming a tree himself, ceasing conscious thought. In her final words to Treebeard during their parting at Isengard, Galadriel said she would "Not him in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Nan-tathren we may meet in the spring. Farewell!" This suggests that in the future, perhaps after the Dagor Dagorath, when the lands of Beleriand will be recovered again, Treebeard and, possibly all the other Ents, will awaken again and that he will meet her again in Nan-Tathren. Portrayal in adaptations Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy In Peter Jackson's films ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Treebeard is a combination of a large animatronic model and a CGI construct; his voice is performed by John Rhys-Davies, who also plays Gimli. In the movie ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002), the Ents at the Entmoot initially decline Merry and Pippin's request for help. Treebeard is carrying the hobbits through the forest, when Pippin gets an idea. He asks Treebeard to carry them towards Isengard, because that is the last place Saruman would look for them. When Treebeard gets close to the forest's edge, he sees the devastation wrought by Saruman's orcs. The trees have all been chopped down to serve as fuel for Saruman's war machine. Treebeard then makes a momentous decision, and calls for the other Ents. They attack Isengard and manage to flood it. In the book, Treebeard and the Ents decide to attack Saruman without any such coercion. They were already most likely aware of this situation. When Gandalf arrives at Isengard in [[The Return of the King (film)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)]], Treebeard refers to Gandalf as "young master Gandalf". Video games Treebeard is featured in The Lord of the Rings: Conquest in both the good and evil campaigns. In the first he appears in the Battle of Isengard level, where the player must deliver Gríma Wormtongue's key to Orthanc to him. In the second, an alternate timeline in which Frodo took the One Ring for himself sees Treebeard killed by the Balrog known as Durin's Bane. He also appears in LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game, in which he is a playable character when one of the Hobbits is riding on his shoulder. Voice dubbing actors Trivia *It's believed that many of Treebeard's mannerisms were based on Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis, a loud, bombastic man known for his powerful stride and overwhelming presence. *The Top Trumps card game lists Treebeard as being 17,051 years old. Appearances Books * ''The Two Towers'' * ''The Return of the King'' Adaptations *''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' *''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' Translations References ca:Barbarbrat de:Baumbart es:Bárbol fr:Sylvebarbe it:Barbalbero pl:Drzewiec ru:Древень Category:Ents Category:Elf friends Category:The Lord of the Rings Characters Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth Category:CGI characters Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film) Characters Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film) Characters Category:Major characters (The Lord of the Rings)